Advancements in electronics, especially in digital electronics and communications, have resulted in wide availability and use of mobile instrumentation. Mobile instruments are used in a variety of industrial and business applications. For example, utility companies use data entry terminals to enter utility data, such as readings from gas and electrical meters at points of use. As another example, transportation and wholesale services use handheld terminals to enter data related to services they provide, such as delivery address and customer name and signature.
Another area where mobile instruments and devices are used is industrial and technical fields. Many technical mobile instruments are used in the field under conditions which necessitate setting the instrument down to free the hands of the user. For example, a field technician measuring some physical quantity, such as voltage, current, pressure, temperature, or humidity may need to set down the industrial measurement instrument to free his hands to probe a circuit or make some notes. Under such conditions, it is advantageous to be able to prop up the industrial measurement instrument on a surface, such as a table, a ledge, or on the ground with a convenient orientation that makes a screen, buttons, and other controls of the industrial measurement instrument accessible to the field technician. It is also advantageous to allow convenient adjustment of the position or orientation of the instrument using one hand without the tilt stand partially closing. Furthermore, a close fit of such tilt stand with the industrial measurement instrument is desirable to avoid inadvertently opening or snagging the tilt stand onto clothing or other objects. Additionally, a good fit between the tilt stand and the casing of the industrial measurement instrument enhances the quality and aesthetic aspects of the industrial measurement instrument. Under field conditions, an industrial measurement instrument propped up by a tilt stand in an open position may be struck or pushed down inadvertently, for example, by falling objects such as a case or a box, causing the open tilt stand to be hyper-extended and broken off from the casing of the industrial measurement instrument. As such, it is advantageous to have a tilt stand attached to the casing of the industrial measurement instrument such that if the tilt stand is hyper-extended, it detaches from the casing of the industrial measurement instrument without breaking or causing damage to the industrial measurement instrument or its casing.